Top 14 Books of 2014

Top 14 Films of 2014

2014 Reading List

January
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien (3 stars)
Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves (5 stars)
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe (graphic novel)
The Shadowhunters Codex by Cassandra Clare (4 stars)
Last To Die by Tess Gerritsen (4 stars)
Forget You by Jennifer Echols (5 stars)
Twilight Volume 1 by Young Kim (graphic novel)
Twilight Volume 2 by Young Kim (graphic novel)
New Avengers The Reunion by Jim McCann (graphic novel)

February
James Hunt by Gerald Donaldson (5 stars)
Along Came A Spider by James Patterson (4 stars)
Renegade by Amy Carol Reeves (4 stars)
The Walkng Dead Vol 2 Miles Behind Us by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)

March
The Walking Dead The Fall of the Governor Part 1 by Robert Kirkman (4 stars)
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (5 stars)
The Walking Dead Vol 3 Safety Behind Bars (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 4 The Hearts Desire by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 5 The Best Defense by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 6 This Sorrowful Life by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
Before I go to Sleep by SJ Watson (3 stars)

April
Inside Game of Thrones Seasons 1&2 by Bryan Cogman (5 stars)
Kiss The Girls by James Patterson (4 stars)
The Walking Dead Vol 7 The Calm Before by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 8 Made to Suffer by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 9 Here We Remain by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (4 stars)
Supernatural Origins by Peter Johnson (graphic novel)
Supernatural Rising Son by Peter Johnson (graphic novel)
Supernatural Beginnings End by Andrew Dabb (graphic novel)

May
Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen Emerson White (5 stars)
The Walking Dead Vol 10 What We Become by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 11 Fear The Hunters by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 12 Life Among Them by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling (5 stars)
Star Wars Episode V Photo Book by Randy Stradley (graphic novel)
Buffy The Blood of Carthage by Christopher Golden (graphic novel)
Star Wars Episode III by Miles Lane (graphic novel)
Star Wars Tales Volume 3 by Dave Land (graphic novel)
Stars Wars Victories and Sacrifices by W Haden Blackman (graphic novel)
Thor Volume 3 by J Michael Straczynski (graphic novel)
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (4 stars)

June
Beastly by Alex Flinn (4 stars)
The Walking Dead Vol 13 Too Far Gone by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 14 No Way Out by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 15 We Find Ourselves by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 16 A Larger World by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 17 Something to Fear by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Vol 18 What Comes After by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Michonne by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead The Governor by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Omnibus by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Issue 109 by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Issue 110 by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)
The Walking Dead Issue 111 by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel)

July
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (4 stars)
Finding It by Cora Carmack (4 stars)
Terror Trips by RL Stine (graphic novel)
Secret Avengers Vol 1 Mission to Mars by Ed Brubaker (graphic novel)

August
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (5 stars)
The Fault in our Stars by John Green (5 stars)

September
The Secret Keeper by Sandra Byrd (4 stars)
Charmed High Spirits by Troy Denning (4 stars)
First World War Poetry by Jon Silkin (5 stars)
An Uncertain Place by Fred Vargas (4 stars)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (5 stars)

October
CSI Double Dealer by Max Allan Collins (3 stars)
If I Stay by Gayle Forman (5 stars)
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick (5 stars)
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (5 stars)
Carrie by Stephen King (3 stars)

November
Fear Nothing by Lisa Gardner (5 stars)
Dracula by Michael Burgan (graphic novel)
Frankenstein by Michael Burgan (graphic novel)
CSI Bad Rap by Max Allan Collins (graphic novel)
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (5 stars)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (5 stars)
3rd Degree by James Patterson (4 stars)

December
A Walk Among the Tombstones by Lawrence Block (4 stars)
Batman The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (graphic novel)
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (4 stars)
New Moon Volume 1 by Young Kim (graphic novel)
The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World by Pointless (3 stars)
My True Love Gave to Me by Mixed Authors (3 stars)
Dynamo Nothing is Impossible by Dyanmo (5 stars)
A Thousand Miles Away by Sonila Reka (4 stars)
Supernatural Monsters, Spirits, Demons and Ghouls by Alex Irvine (3 stars)

Books for Review/ARCs

The Grinch Tag

Half of the lights on the Christmas tree are burnt out- Name a book/series/character that started out well and then went downhill

Annoying relatives won't leave you alone- Name a book that you did not enjoy but everyone else seems to love, and it will not stop haunting you

Your pets keep knocking over the Christmas decorations- Name a character that kept on messing everything up for everyone

You hear your parents putting presents out and learn that Father Christmas is not real- Name a book you were spoiled for

Its freezing outside- Name a character you just couldn't warm to

The Governor from The Walking Dead novels

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas' is being played a lot on the radio, giving you anti-romantic feelings- Name a couple that you could just not stand

Cersei and Jamie Lannister from A Game of Thrones

The scratchy homemade jumper that you got for Christmas years ago but have never worn- A book that has been sitting on your shelf for years that you are not motivated to read, but do not have the heart to get rid of



Grandma has gotten run over by a reindeer- Name a character death that you are still mad about
I don't want to give away book spoilers for all the book lovers. So I will choose a TV death instead. 



Shops are overcrowded with shoppers for the holidays- Name a series with too many books, or that went on too long



The Grinch- Name a main character that you absolutely hate (not a villain)

Tis The Season Tag

Do you have a favourite winter read?

Find a book with blue on the cover

Find a book you would use as the star on a Christmas tree

Pick one fictional place that would be perfect for a winter vacation

Pick one fictional character you would take with you on your winter vacation

Name one book on your wish list this Christmas

Favourite holiday drink, treat and movie

My favourite holiday drinks are things like J2O, Smirnoff Ice and WKD. Treats I like at Christmas include the Christmas flavours or Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream and all the Christmas style doughnuts, cakes and cookies you can get. My favourite Christmas films include The Grinch, Home Alone 1, 2 and 3, Miracle on 34th Street and Gremlins. My overall favourite Christmas film though is A Christmas Carol. I have seen all the versions of that, but my favourites include the Patrick Stewart and Jim Carey versions. 

Black Ice

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Published- 7th October 2014
Publisher- Simon and Schuster UK
Pages- 384 pages (ARC paperback)

A girl is murdered in the first chapter of this novel, but who killed her and why? Britt and Korbie are going on a trekking holiday in the mountains and they encounter 2 mysterious guys when they get caught in a snowstorm. Who are Mason and Shaun. Also, why has Calvin, Korbie's brother, suddenly returned from university?

I really enjoyed this novel as it was a thriller and it contained elements of romance throughout. The whole novel leaves you trying to guess who the real killer is and why they were killing these young girls. It also leaves you wondering more about Shaun and Mason and why thy are trying to hide out in the mountains. There was action straight away in the first chapter, but it did kinda slow down towards the middle. However, the action picked up again towards the end of the novel.

Britt was a great character in my opinion as she would do anything from her friend Korbie so they both got off the mountain alive. She was brave and willing to do whatever it took. Korbie annoyed me at times as she moaned a lot and complained and basically didn't believe anything anyone told her about her family. So in my opinion she wasn't that likeable of a character.

Mason was a brilliant male lead character. He wanted to protect Britt and make sure that Shaun didn't hurt her. Their romance story was a good side plot to the main novel. Shaun was a great bad guy as he would hurt whoever he wanted to just so they could get off the mountain without being caught by the police. I did like Calvin at first, but the more you found out about him just changed your opinion of him. 

I was lucky enough to go to a questions/answers session with Becca Fitzpatrick at Foyles in London and meet the her too. She was such a lovely lady and signed my copy of Black Ice. This was the first Becca Fitzpatrick novel I've read, but I might have to give the Hush Hush series a read in the future.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable thriller for me. Loved trying to guess what was going to happen next and I always try to guess who the killers are. I gave this novel 5 out of 5 stars. Give it a read if you are a fan of Becca Fitzpatrick or just love reading thrillers/romance novels. 

                                    Rating 5/5

    

A Walk Among The Tombstones

A Walk Among The Tombstones by Lawrence Block

Published- 26th August 2014
Publisher- Hard Case Crime
Pages- 416 pages (paperback)

A Walk Among The Tombstones is about Kenan Khoury whose wife has been kidnapped, ransomed and returned to him dead. His brother Peter hires Matt Schudder, a private investigator, to find out who did this horrific crime, why and how can they be stopped. It has recently been released as a movie starring Liam Neeson as Matt Schudder and Dan Stevens as Kenan Khoury. However, the ending of the book is totally different from the ending of the film.

This isn't one of my favourite books but it was still a really good novel. I love crime novels such as this one. The action started right away in the first chapter with Kenan's wife being kidnapped and returned to him at the end of chapter one. Kenan was a likeable character in a way because all he wanted to do was find out who killed his wife. He's a drug dealer but was that a reason why his wife was killed?

Matt was a great private investigator as he would use all his resources and do everything he could to bring the killers to justice. However, I didn't really enjoy the AA meetings parts as that kinda dragged on after reading it a couple of times throughout the novel. Peter really annoyed me most of the novel because he tended to talk a lot about the AA meetings and then hardly ever going to them. He tended to moan quite a lot aswell. However, he did really care about his brother Kenan. 

I have yet to see the film, but I am sure it is a good film. It contains a brilliant actor in Liam Neeson. People in the UK might know Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey. 

Overall, this was a good novel even if some parts did bore me at some points and drag on repeatedly. I gave this novel 4 out of 5 stars. Give this a read if you have seen the film and loved that or if you just love crime/thriller novels.

                       Rating 4/5